Commanders News: Josh Harris, Ron Rivera, Sam Howell and Desean Jackson
By Dean Jones
Ron Rivera impressed with Mike McDaniel
The Miami Dolphins offense is one of the league's most explosive They have speed everywhere you look, can break off chunk plays at will, and have no trouble putting games out of sight quickly once early momentum is generated.
Mike McDaniel is the brainchild. He's a former Washington assistant as part of a staff that also included names such as Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, and Matt LaFleur among others. But the Dolphins head coach revealed that he'd written previously to Ron Rivera for a job coming out of college and was surprised to get a reply.
Although an employment opportunity didn't come following the exchange, Rivera highlighted how impressed he was with McDaniel's early initiative via Sports Illustrated. This determination coupled with offensive innovation saw him rise through the coaching ranks quickly to the top job in Miami.
"Well, I remember replying, and then he reminded me of it last year when I was at one of the committee meetings and we had a great conversation. He's a very bright, very sharp young man. He really is. When people do things like that, they take the initiative, it goes back to that old saying that I was told back in the day when I wanted to get into coaching, and that is, ‘They're not going to send a limo, so go get the job.' And that was my mentality, and I was very impressed with that. And that's why I responded. He took the time and the least I could do is take the time to respond to him. And it's kind of proven it because he's turned into a heck of a football coach. He really has. He's done a great job."
- Ron Rivera via Sports Illustrated
This is a pretty cool story and it speaks volumes about both head coaches. But it will count for nothing when the pair square off this weekend.